62,000

October 3, 2018

Cases dismissed in the last two years by a largely unregulated "secret court" in Massachusetts, which is unlike any other in the country and run by governor-appointed clerks who may or may not have gone to college. In nearly 30 percent of the thrown-out cases, some involving death, a clerk concluded there was probable cause that the accused committed a crime. Police and politicians include people who have dodged charges this way.